Battery inspection day

‘Tis battery inspection day. Back around the beginning of the year I made a list of all the devices I leave batteries in during the year and decided that every month I would inspect each device to make sure the batteries hadn’t crapped the bed.

So far, so good. :::fingers crossed::: Haven’t come across any that are startingt o go bad.

Yeah, it’s kind of a pain to run around thehouse hunting down a half dozen flashlights and radios to open their battery compartments and check them out, but when a good LED MagLite is twenty bucks all it takes is catching one set of batteries early in the act to pay for itself.

So…if you’re like me and are tired of throwing out Maglites that had batteries go bad and weld themselves to the inside of the tubes…. go check your battery devices today.

17 thoughts on “Battery inspection day

  1. Buy ten year batteries but don’t put them in device, secure them together. That leaves only my EDC flashlight

    • So I put the batteries in the smoke detector only when I think theres going to be a fire?

  2. One of the advantages of living in a small place: there’re not many places and things to check.

  3. Interestingly enough, I have (I think) just completed my battery survey. I fond 4 NIB Duracells, out of a ten pack, to have leaked BEFORE I EVEN OPENED THE PACKAGE. While Duracell promised to send me a voucher for ten new batteries…I am, to say the least, reluctant, to rely on Duracells ever again.

    As our esteemed host has stated, check your batteries frequently

    • Duracells are complete and utter shite.

      Doesn’t matter how great the price, they aren’t worth it even in a $2 plastic flashlight. They WILL — not “might” — fail and leak and destroy whatever device they are in.

      And Duracell’s so-called warranty is useless bullshit.

      I’ve had a single leakage incident with Energizer lithium AAs, and it did no damage to the radio fortunately. I’ll continue to take my chances with those, but I check every six months now rather than annually. And any gear that doesn’t need to be “pickup, turn on and go” is stored with the batteries in an attached ziplock bag.

    • Suture your hand back together in the dark, lemme know how that works for ya.

  4. Duracells suck. I have found way too many of them leaking even before being put into a device.

  5. If a name brand battery leaks and damages a device, the battery manufacturer will almost always replace the device: Check their warranty.

    I consider it adding a device, since I have to buy a replacement while the damaged unit is off being inspected…

    • Back when Duracell and others were using the original formulas, it was really rare for them to shit the bed. Now, they just blame you for the problem, from what I hear. Piss on Duracell, I don’t buy them anymore. Never again. Tired of tossing items ruined by them. Makes no sense to pay good money for trash, which is what they have become.

    • Duracell will give you the run around now. Their warranty is shit, and their batteries are worse than shit.

  6. Thank you for the reminder. Went through all the lights that use alkaline batteries in the house. Replaced batteries on three of them.

  7. Old pilot joke:

    Flashlight: Definition, a cylindrical metal case used for the storage of dead batteries.

  8. I’ve given up on Duracell. While they’ve made good on all the stuff their craptastic batteries have ruined, I’m tired of having to deal with them.

    I’ve went with Eveready Lithiums for some time now and so far haven’t had an issue. Yeah, they’re more expensive, but they have a far better shelf life and (knock wood) don’t leak. They tolerate large temperature swings. The only thing you have to do now is watch out for counterfeits. It’s been a problem for a while, but is getting really bad as of late. Search for “fake Eveready lithium batteries” and you’ll get an education. Along with fake memory cards. That one was new to me.

  9. Eveready Ultimate Lithium

    Don’t leak
    Work below freezing
    20 year shelf life
    several times the stored energy of an alkaline

    I keep these in my emergency radio and flashlights.

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